Bellavista, where utopia becomes wine

Vittorio and Francesca Moretti, on Monday 3rd July in Franciacorta, celebrated the release of the 2016 vintage of the Vittorio Moretti Riserva with an Indian dinner hosted by Himanshu Saini, a 35-year-old Indian chef transplanted to Dubai. Thanks to his Trèsind Studio, he has recently collected two Michelin stars, the second place in the World's 50 Best Middle East and North Africa and the eleventh place in the World's 50 Best Restaurants. He can still grow, but even now he is remarkable, supported by a golden personality, disarming in his blunt sincerity. It was clear every time he cooked at the Identità Golose Milano hub. It was confirmed at Bellavista, where he cooked with a friend living in Italy, to avoid visa problems.

In Franciacorta, there were about a hundred people to serve, not just three or four tables. The choice of cook caused lots of joy. It wasn’t just one option among many, but a surprising one. As Francesca Moretti commented: 'Always experiment.’ Very true, also to 'stress' the latest vintage of this Franciacorta reserve. If you play it safe and don't dare, you certainly don't go wrong, but neither do you leave an important mark. And the Morettis know how to fly high, always looking forward to new comparisons, new challenges. An important detail: since this vintage also bears his name, it must reflect the character of Vittorio Moretti, an unstoppable worker.

The patriarch on the lawn in front of his house said: 'We have always had fun and if I have worked so much it is because I like working. It doesn't weigh me down, so much so that I’m convinced that I’m a slacker because I leave all the hard work to my co-workers and think about having fun.’ Of course, it is a paradox because if you love your work you feel it infinitely less. Moretti always said: 'The truth is always one: understand that you can't build anything alone, you must learn to pick good collaborators.'

The latest is called Richard Geoffroy who, since leaving Dom Pérignon, has been moving between the sake he produces personally, and Bellavista bubbles, none of which are yet his own children. Time will come, though of the 2016 Riserva he said that he found nothing out of tune with it, 'no extra baggage'. A clear and complimentary image for a metodo classico that combines elegance with depth and is only produced from exceptional vintages. It’s not available every year.

Since its debut in 1984, eleven more have followed: 1988, 1991, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2016.

Utopia becomes wine, Francesca Moretti recalled, celebrating her father with sincere and important words: 'You’re Utopia, the dream, the ability to imagine the impossible and make it come true. You’re Home because you’re a great entrepreneur, but for you everything has always revolved around your family: me, my sisters and, above all, Mamma.

‘That's why you wanted to make bubbles: because of your joy of life and because you wanted to toast with friends every moment, because every moment is worth celebrating. As your daughter, I admire your creativity, your energy. I don't really know where you get it from, maybe it's the bubbles that have an energetic effect on you, always moving with your head, heart and body. With you, one feels guilty resting....

"The indomitable spirit, the courage, that ability to boldly go beyond convention. Being emotional and rational, I sometimes struggle to understand, but your pioneering vision has always guided me.

Then, there’s the ingenuity, the determination, the perfection and wonder. All these words describe you and make me think of you. Being close to you is not easy, but every day I try to learn and so we move the horizon of our every together.

"Thank you for founding Bellavista, believing in this beautiful territory, dreaming big and with great generosity of thought. Thank you for raising me surrounded by nature and for always having excellent minds and great professionals at my side, not least Richard Geoffroy". This is how utopia becomes wine.

Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso